This week has been a challenge for us. We have felt as if we are under spiritual attack, especially in all the little things. Yesterday morning, our milk went bad, some glass items broke as we were packing, and everything just took longer than it normally does. So we were rushing to class to take our final test only to find out that our teacher was expecting us to be there all day until 3pm! We usually are only there until noon and had plans for lunch and many errands to do. We were very frustrated with this turn of events, but by God's grace we remembered to pray. We had to cancel our lunch plans, but we were able to complete each portion of the test much faster than expected and finished at 12:45. As we were leaving school I got a text from our househelp that the kitchen table broke as she was trying to move it and hurt her leg. By God's grace we were able to focus on her and make sure she was ok and not worry about our table that was now in 3 pieces. It's so easy for us to get caught up in tasks, but instead we were able to value people, both with our teacher and our househelp.
We were still feeling kind of grumpy, so we decided to stop packing for a bit and do some errands, get top-up cards (the way you do phone credit), try out motorcycle helmets and other random things like that. On our way back we got caught in a torrential downpour. We thought about taking a taxi, but decided we were already wet, we might as well take ourselves a little less seriously and just enjoy the rain. That was the best thing for me. I had a blast singing "singing in the rain", smiling at taxi drivers who offered these wet mazungus rides...and just enjoying playing in the rain. It was so refreshing just to take in the moment. Even when we got home, I just stayed outside a little longer.
Last night we had our last home group Bible study. The group organized a send-off meal (that was delicious!!) and there were speeches and jokes and prayers. We just feel so incredibly blessed by this community of friends who welcomed us in and made us feel at home here in Kenya. They offered their homes whenever we're in town and repeated their plans to come visit us. We are just amazed by the gifts of their friendship and hospitality!
God is good, all the time. All the time, God is good. (I hear this everyday..)
Please be praying for God's grace, blessing and provision over this weekend of transition. Our desire is for God to be in the little things as well as the big things. Our hope is in Christ alone.
Friday, May 29, 2009
Wednesday, May 27, 2009
Enyorrata- Love
So the countdown continues, 3 nights left in our Nairobi apartment. Boxes are now taking over the rooms and we are planning out each meal so that we don't have uneaten food. We are also kicking our studying into high gear. The last two days we worked on a sermon in Maasai with our teacher, so hopefully it will go well whenever I do it.
Otherwise, we have been fighting off various ailments, a cold for me and a hurt back for Steph and checking things off our shrinking to-do list. Not much else to report, just lots of prayer needed as we head out to Najile on Saturday. It looks like we might not have our 2-seat bike on time since registration is taking longer than expected but we'll still have access to a one-seat bike for the time being. We have seen pictures of our house and it is quite exciting...bright orange walls and blue windows on the outside. I'm psyched!
Najile here we come!
Otherwise, we have been fighting off various ailments, a cold for me and a hurt back for Steph and checking things off our shrinking to-do list. Not much else to report, just lots of prayer needed as we head out to Najile on Saturday. It looks like we might not have our 2-seat bike on time since registration is taking longer than expected but we'll still have access to a one-seat bike for the time being. We have seen pictures of our house and it is quite exciting...bright orange walls and blue windows on the outside. I'm psyched!
Najile here we come!
Friday, May 22, 2009
Transitions
Moving day is a week from tomorrow, on May 30th.
I've been struck by the fleeting nature of being in the development world. We've been in Nairobi for 3 months. We've gotten involved in a church and have built good friendships with our home group fellowship. We've also connected with the Mennonite ex-pat community here, spending regular time with them. And yet, now we're moving. We'll start all over again. We will of course still connect with our friends when we are in Nairobi, and we look forward to that, but now we must learn new routines, figure out our place in Najile, while also adjusting to the additional challenge of language and even bigger cultural differences.
I'm nervous. Will we be able to understand what people say to us? Will we be able to connect with people and build friendships? Will be able to do anything worthwhile? And yet, I'm excited. We are finally going to do what we've been preparing for, for a year. We are going to live among the Maasai! We are hopefully going to help them bring about real development in food security and in the GAR program (Generations-at-Risk - HIV/AIDS project). Hopefully we will build deep and lasting friendships. We look forward to learning from the Maasai. I'm excited to learn how to take care of cows, how to make Maasai food, how to build an enkang (the Maasai homestead)... No matter what happens, we are confident has called us to Najile for a reason. We've already seen how much God has done in us here in Kenya and we are excited to see how he will continue to grow and shape us in this new setting.
I've been struck by the fleeting nature of being in the development world. We've been in Nairobi for 3 months. We've gotten involved in a church and have built good friendships with our home group fellowship. We've also connected with the Mennonite ex-pat community here, spending regular time with them. And yet, now we're moving. We'll start all over again. We will of course still connect with our friends when we are in Nairobi, and we look forward to that, but now we must learn new routines, figure out our place in Najile, while also adjusting to the additional challenge of language and even bigger cultural differences.
I'm nervous. Will we be able to understand what people say to us? Will we be able to connect with people and build friendships? Will be able to do anything worthwhile? And yet, I'm excited. We are finally going to do what we've been preparing for, for a year. We are going to live among the Maasai! We are hopefully going to help them bring about real development in food security and in the GAR program (Generations-at-Risk - HIV/AIDS project). Hopefully we will build deep and lasting friendships. We look forward to learning from the Maasai. I'm excited to learn how to take care of cows, how to make Maasai food, how to build an enkang (the Maasai homestead)... No matter what happens, we are confident has called us to Najile for a reason. We've already seen how much God has done in us here in Kenya and we are excited to see how he will continue to grow and shape us in this new setting.
Great Expectations
Last week, Steph and I had one of our Kenyan friends over for dinner and we had a very interesting conversation about life, politics, and change in Africa. I was really proud of Steph for especially seeking our friend's insight into things, to get a truly Kenyan view on things. One idea that our friend really espoused was avoiding trying to implement ideas/modes of operating from the West to Africa without taking context into account. For example, she talked about how roads here are made by Western engineers and are focused on carrying cars and trucks as in the States. However, in many places a majority of people travel by bike or foot, why shouldn't there be more bike paths or at least places to walk safely down the road? One the biggest fears of ex-pats here about driving at night is that they'll hit somebody because so many people are walking and there is no sidewalk.
Another issue she talked about is democracy. She seemed to believe Kenya (and much of Africa) is not ready for democracy the way it is practiced now in the West. Her perspective is that most voters vote for personalities and not issues. Elections are little more than popularity contests and it will take much time before voters are informed to the point where they can vote intelligently for national leaders. She suggested a quasi-electoral college system where locals only vote for local leaders and then those elected officials vote for national leaders. We should remember that America originally only let the white, male, landowners vote for president and even then, the electoral college still ultimately decided things. The framers of our constitution were in many ways afraid of the mass vote, and wanted to avoid the type of uninformed voting our friend talked about. Remember that African countries have only been independent for ~50 years and our country is not only much older, but has enjoyed ample times of peace to develop political structures.
I thought it was interesting that she was especially adamant about the importance (or lack thereof) of the American set of "essential civil liberties." She asked, what good is a free press without food on the table? I agree with her that there is a hierarchy of needs, and until a country can enable its people to provide for their basic needs some of the freedoms that Americans see as non-negotiable become less important. It makes sense then that if a strong-man dictator can provide food (and cruelty) while a weak democracy can provide neither food nor rule of law, that people may prefer a dictator.
In no way am I diminishing my appreciation for the freedoms we are afforded in the States. However, I think we need to be careful when applying our vision of "good governance" to other countries who may or may not be culturally or structurally ready to adopt what has worked for us. In many ways, I think Americans have been blinded by our own political success and immediately assume our way is the best for everybody. However, our great expectations for the rest of the world may often be inappropriate.
Another issue she talked about is democracy. She seemed to believe Kenya (and much of Africa) is not ready for democracy the way it is practiced now in the West. Her perspective is that most voters vote for personalities and not issues. Elections are little more than popularity contests and it will take much time before voters are informed to the point where they can vote intelligently for national leaders. She suggested a quasi-electoral college system where locals only vote for local leaders and then those elected officials vote for national leaders. We should remember that America originally only let the white, male, landowners vote for president and even then, the electoral college still ultimately decided things. The framers of our constitution were in many ways afraid of the mass vote, and wanted to avoid the type of uninformed voting our friend talked about. Remember that African countries have only been independent for ~50 years and our country is not only much older, but has enjoyed ample times of peace to develop political structures.
I thought it was interesting that she was especially adamant about the importance (or lack thereof) of the American set of "essential civil liberties." She asked, what good is a free press without food on the table? I agree with her that there is a hierarchy of needs, and until a country can enable its people to provide for their basic needs some of the freedoms that Americans see as non-negotiable become less important. It makes sense then that if a strong-man dictator can provide food (and cruelty) while a weak democracy can provide neither food nor rule of law, that people may prefer a dictator.
In no way am I diminishing my appreciation for the freedoms we are afforded in the States. However, I think we need to be careful when applying our vision of "good governance" to other countries who may or may not be culturally or structurally ready to adopt what has worked for us. In many ways, I think Americans have been blinded by our own political success and immediately assume our way is the best for everybody. However, our great expectations for the rest of the world may often be inappropriate.
Tuesday, May 19, 2009
Intokitin (things)
Entasupa! Things have been increasingly busy as we prepare for Najile. I am starting to even feel bad for our neighbors' kids Walter and Njeri as we haven't played with them at all over the last few weeks. Aside from making endless lists of things to buy and do, we also are working hard at integrating more and more maasai into our daily conversations and watching the Lord of the Rings extended editions. Apparently, the best way for us to relax now is to watch movies and have homemade popcorn. I definitely recommend popcorn made on the stove. It just tastes better, instead of fake non-dairy yellow substance, you can add real butter or just some salt (which is our favorite).
What else is new, for those of you who pay attention to these sorts of things, it seems as if the Sri Lankan civil war is pretty much finished, which is good, though a lot of work needs to be done in that land. Be praying for the home of Serendipity (it used to be called "serendip").
I think the biggest aspect of life that I'm thinking about post-nairobi is work. For all my life I have been training or preparing for work. Global Insight almost counts as real work, but at the same time, it was mostly a time-filler that allowed me to stay in Wilmington for a year. Te Najile, I will be actually doing something that I feel like God has called me to do. This is kingdom work and I am excited to be putting my vocation to such good use. At the same time, I feel like I have real responsibilities as well. I am accountable to God to be excellent in work. I have learned many ways to be honor God in school, in marriage, in friendship etc... but I think the rules change in work. Does being a good worker mean earning the company/organization the most money? Does it mean sharing your faith with coworkers? In school we had tests to measure our success, in real life such cut and dry evaluations rarely exist and when they do, often have little meaning.
What else is new, for those of you who pay attention to these sorts of things, it seems as if the Sri Lankan civil war is pretty much finished, which is good, though a lot of work needs to be done in that land. Be praying for the home of Serendipity (it used to be called "serendip").
I think the biggest aspect of life that I'm thinking about post-nairobi is work. For all my life I have been training or preparing for work. Global Insight almost counts as real work, but at the same time, it was mostly a time-filler that allowed me to stay in Wilmington for a year. Te Najile, I will be actually doing something that I feel like God has called me to do. This is kingdom work and I am excited to be putting my vocation to such good use. At the same time, I feel like I have real responsibilities as well. I am accountable to God to be excellent in work. I have learned many ways to be honor God in school, in marriage, in friendship etc... but I think the rules change in work. Does being a good worker mean earning the company/organization the most money? Does it mean sharing your faith with coworkers? In school we had tests to measure our success, in real life such cut and dry evaluations rarely exist and when they do, often have little meaning.
Friday, May 15, 2009
MCC Crew
Thought I'd post a picture of some of our MCC crew....Enjoy
Group Picture (L-R)
Vic and Christina Buckwalter, us, Jacob and Alvira Stern, and Martha and Ron Ratzlaff (country directors)
Other Picture
Matt and Emily (Ph.d student studying MCC)
Tuesday, May 12, 2009
More Magadi Pictures
Pictures Above (bottom to top)
1. Our home group enjoying lots of meat
2. Enjoying the view of the rift valley
3. Matt lounging
Magadi Trip
Picture #1 The female carnivores
Picture #2 Lots of meat at Olepolos Country Club
Picture #3 The group from left to right: Charles, Mary, Malaika (wife of Charles), Kent & Leila, Mukiria & Hilda, Matt & me
Picture #4 The factory
Picture #5 Lake Magadi: The world's top producer of salt.
Magadi and More
Three weeks and counting before our exodus from Nairobi to the promised land of....Najile! This past weekend we had a great time with our small group from Nairobi Baptist Church (see pictures below/above). The plan was to go to lake Magadi (Emakat for you Maasai-speakers) to see the sights, then go out to eat along the way. The drive was about 100km each way, and takes a solid 2-3 hours. The trip organizers had rented a large van for us all to ride together which made the drive lots of fun. Steph had made chapitis (yummy Kenyan tortillas) as a snack and they were well received by all.
After a few hours of driving we see the large lake, mostly dry, and the ground is white. Magadi is known for its soda-ash which can be refined down to salt, and the plant is one of the (if not the) largest salt producers in the world. The salt just sits on the dry lake bed and then the company refines it. As we drive in, however, we quickly realize Magadi is not exactly a touristy town. Everything is owned by the company and it is clear that outsiders are not exactly welcome. We drove down to the local country club and were told that we were not allowed in (as temporary members). There were no attractions or tours to be had so we found a pull off spot to take some pictures ("snaps") of the lake. Within a few minutes, a guard came to tell us to stop taking pictures and shoo-ed us away.
So we turned around and headed out! On the way back to Nairobi, we stopped at an archaeological site where early-man remains were found. The tour guide abandoned us after the first tour spot, to the chagrin of our friends. One (Mary) reamed out the guy in swahili, and reported him to the government on Monday (as he was a government worker). This was definitely a trip highlight!
Before we went home, we stopped to get some dinner at the Olepolos Country Club, which was a restaurant run by a local Maasai man. The view was breathtaking as we sat on the top of a hill overlooking the Rift Valley. The food was also good, ala Gitihiri market, and we enjoyed lots of meat! Steph and I also had a couple chances to try our Maasai as a few Maasai men came to sell us various handicrafts.
We arrived back at Charles and Malaika's house around 7 and then enjoyed some Masala chai (ginger and cardamom I think) and good conversation before going home. When looking back at the day, there was no single event that seemed to be a "great time" as the lake was hostile towards us and the dig site had no real artifacts, just holes and dirt. But, in all, it was enjoyable to spend time with friends and explore Kenya together. We hope that someday our small group will be able to visit us in Najile, maybe even hike Mt. Suswa together. Praise God for a group of friends who were willing to welcome us to their homes and share their lives with us.
After a few hours of driving we see the large lake, mostly dry, and the ground is white. Magadi is known for its soda-ash which can be refined down to salt, and the plant is one of the (if not the) largest salt producers in the world. The salt just sits on the dry lake bed and then the company refines it. As we drive in, however, we quickly realize Magadi is not exactly a touristy town. Everything is owned by the company and it is clear that outsiders are not exactly welcome. We drove down to the local country club and were told that we were not allowed in (as temporary members). There were no attractions or tours to be had so we found a pull off spot to take some pictures ("snaps") of the lake. Within a few minutes, a guard came to tell us to stop taking pictures and shoo-ed us away.
So we turned around and headed out! On the way back to Nairobi, we stopped at an archaeological site where early-man remains were found. The tour guide abandoned us after the first tour spot, to the chagrin of our friends. One (Mary) reamed out the guy in swahili, and reported him to the government on Monday (as he was a government worker). This was definitely a trip highlight!
Before we went home, we stopped to get some dinner at the Olepolos Country Club, which was a restaurant run by a local Maasai man. The view was breathtaking as we sat on the top of a hill overlooking the Rift Valley. The food was also good, ala Gitihiri market, and we enjoyed lots of meat! Steph and I also had a couple chances to try our Maasai as a few Maasai men came to sell us various handicrafts.
We arrived back at Charles and Malaika's house around 7 and then enjoyed some Masala chai (ginger and cardamom I think) and good conversation before going home. When looking back at the day, there was no single event that seemed to be a "great time" as the lake was hostile towards us and the dig site had no real artifacts, just holes and dirt. But, in all, it was enjoyable to spend time with friends and explore Kenya together. We hope that someday our small group will be able to visit us in Najile, maybe even hike Mt. Suswa together. Praise God for a group of friends who were willing to welcome us to their homes and share their lives with us.
Friday, May 8, 2009
Steph's new job: Hair stylist
After Matt discovered that most of the ex-pat men have their wives cut their hair... Matt set out to convince me that I too could be a stylist. After buying hair clippers at the faithful Nakumatt, I practiced on the back of Matt's head with the longest combs. After a short time I found I actually enjoyed hair-cutting & my shaggy husband appreciated his new look. Not the best cut Matt's ever gotten, but the price was right.
Monday, May 4, 2009
Sand Dams-A local solution to a water problem
Last week-end we visited a site using sand dams built by local people to store water during the rainy season for irrigation later. Here are some pictures:
Pictures #1 and 2 A dry river bed; what the area looks like before a dam (note the vegetation on the hillside is partially due to nearby dams which have the effect of raising the water table)
Picture #3 An "immature" sand dam which still has standing water present
Picture #4 A mature sand dam; no standing water--the water has seeped into the sand
Picture #5 Extracting water from a sand dam
Pictures 6 and 7 Area irrigated by a sand dam--look at the green!
Picture #8 Matt and local children on a sand dam
Picture #9 Steph on a sand dam
Shopping!
Since by definition women like to shop... I figured I'd share with you my shopping experiences here in Kenya. First, there's Nakumatt. Nakumatt is the Kenyan Wal-mart. There's anything and everything, but I wouldn't necessarily say it's cheaper. Their motto is "you need it. we have it." Which is somewhat the case... one week they might have this really great cereal or soap or piece of hardware and the next week it will be nowhere to be found with no timeline of when they will have it again. But overall, it's very convenient & you can find a version of just about anything you're looking for. Nakumatt is the closest grocery for us and it's even a Nakumatt Mega (ie. super walmart).
Our favorite place for produce is aptly named, Zucchinis. They have great service, but they're all the way across town, so we have to coordinate our shopping trips to fit with when someone can give us a ride. When you enter the store there are lots of men waiting around to help you find just the right herbs, vegetables and fruits you want. You can tell them how many, when you need them to be ripe, etc and they'll get the best of everything for you. Plus, it's really good prices. To put it in perspective, we bought a large bunch of bananas, a pineapple, multiple lemons, 3 mangos, a pack of strawberries, 3 green peppers, 2 yellow peppers, 2 red peppers, 3 zucchinis, large amounts of green beans & snap peas & broccoli, a bunch of potatos, a bag of onions and a few other assorted items for about 600 shillings. (600 Kenyan shillings = $7.50).
The other week, I successfully navigated & actually bought things (I've walked through some markets before) at my first Kenyan market. It's called Toi Market (there are barely any toys). There is every kind of clothing (for all ages), household items, shoes, food, decorations, jewelry, etc. In typical market style, you could find any combination of items next to each other: such as mangos & bananas next to a stall filled with men's pants.... Before going, I had braced myself for the worst. I fully expected to be accosted by tons of people, have to work my way through crowds and deal with all the locals seeking out the mazungu who has money to spend... Thankfully this was not the case. The Kenyans were very friendly with their "hellos" "how are yous" (they actually say those words plurally quite regularly) and "welcome customers." But they gave you space to look around and when you said no, they didn't keep bothering you (phew!). A friend of mine, Marti (another MCC-er) showed me the ropes. I successfully haggled down some prices and spent a grand total of 360 shillings to get 4 long skirts and 2 pairs of dress socks. I felt very accomplished. As we left I was already dreaming up plans of bringing Matt along or bringing our visitors to the market and having them experience it for themselves...
Our favorite place for produce is aptly named, Zucchinis. They have great service, but they're all the way across town, so we have to coordinate our shopping trips to fit with when someone can give us a ride. When you enter the store there are lots of men waiting around to help you find just the right herbs, vegetables and fruits you want. You can tell them how many, when you need them to be ripe, etc and they'll get the best of everything for you. Plus, it's really good prices. To put it in perspective, we bought a large bunch of bananas, a pineapple, multiple lemons, 3 mangos, a pack of strawberries, 3 green peppers, 2 yellow peppers, 2 red peppers, 3 zucchinis, large amounts of green beans & snap peas & broccoli, a bunch of potatos, a bag of onions and a few other assorted items for about 600 shillings. (600 Kenyan shillings = $7.50).
The other week, I successfully navigated & actually bought things (I've walked through some markets before) at my first Kenyan market. It's called Toi Market (there are barely any toys). There is every kind of clothing (for all ages), household items, shoes, food, decorations, jewelry, etc. In typical market style, you could find any combination of items next to each other: such as mangos & bananas next to a stall filled with men's pants.... Before going, I had braced myself for the worst. I fully expected to be accosted by tons of people, have to work my way through crowds and deal with all the locals seeking out the mazungu who has money to spend... Thankfully this was not the case. The Kenyans were very friendly with their "hellos" "how are yous" (they actually say those words plurally quite regularly) and "welcome customers." But they gave you space to look around and when you said no, they didn't keep bothering you (phew!). A friend of mine, Marti (another MCC-er) showed me the ropes. I successfully haggled down some prices and spent a grand total of 360 shillings to get 4 long skirts and 2 pairs of dress socks. I felt very accomplished. As we left I was already dreaming up plans of bringing Matt along or bringing our visitors to the market and having them experience it for themselves...
Spiritual
After a holiday weekend we are now back to the grind of learning Maasai. I wanted to take a little time to praise God for the spiritual developments of our last few months here.
MCC has been going through an ongoing process called, "New Wineskins" which looks at how to restructure organizationally. In the same way, I believe we both have been called to find new spiritual wineskins individually. The scope of the transition and challenges we face make it imperative that we find new ways to know God and pursue our faith.
Early on during our time here, I found a need for daily reliance on God. In the past, it has been hard to know what it means to rely on God when so much of life seemed self-determined. Between where I work, how I relax, how I provide for our needs, it all seemed like a stretch to say "God is providing for me" or "I need God today." In Kenya, things are very different. It has been a great blessing to truly need God to function day-to-day.
Recently, I have been thinking and praying more about my new spiritual wineskins. Do I need to adopt new disciplines, new patterns of doing things to keep my faith healthy and growing? The answer I have been getting is a resounding, "yes." Doing things the old way just doesn't cut it for me now, I get discouraged easily, I am "down" easily, etc... While I don't believe I can "fix" myself by my own works, I want to listen intently to what God is saying to me about my spiritual routines.
So, I am now in a process of discovering my new wineskins. I have been trying to listen more, to spend time in silence (something always difficult for me), to wait on the Lord, and be open to new or different spirituality. I pray that I will not only find the new wineskins, but be ready to taste the goodness of the new wine!
MCC has been going through an ongoing process called, "New Wineskins" which looks at how to restructure organizationally. In the same way, I believe we both have been called to find new spiritual wineskins individually. The scope of the transition and challenges we face make it imperative that we find new ways to know God and pursue our faith.
Early on during our time here, I found a need for daily reliance on God. In the past, it has been hard to know what it means to rely on God when so much of life seemed self-determined. Between where I work, how I relax, how I provide for our needs, it all seemed like a stretch to say "God is providing for me" or "I need God today." In Kenya, things are very different. It has been a great blessing to truly need God to function day-to-day.
Recently, I have been thinking and praying more about my new spiritual wineskins. Do I need to adopt new disciplines, new patterns of doing things to keep my faith healthy and growing? The answer I have been getting is a resounding, "yes." Doing things the old way just doesn't cut it for me now, I get discouraged easily, I am "down" easily, etc... While I don't believe I can "fix" myself by my own works, I want to listen intently to what God is saying to me about my spiritual routines.
So, I am now in a process of discovering my new wineskins. I have been trying to listen more, to spend time in silence (something always difficult for me), to wait on the Lord, and be open to new or different spirituality. I pray that I will not only find the new wineskins, but be ready to taste the goodness of the new wine!
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